As Catholics, we are called to advocate, through prayer and action, for the sanctity of life from conception until natural death. Under the direction and guidance of the Diocese, the Respect Life Ministry works fervently to raise awareness and advocate for the sanctity of life with different events and activities throughout the year.
A New Beginning at the Caritas Center
The Respect Life Ministry is continuing and expanding SJV’s Mission of Living Faith, Changing Lives, and Making a Difference at the Caritas Center, and we invite you to join us!
The Respect Life Ministry has traditionally focused on activities that relate to the unborn and the Catholic teaching that life starts at conception; consequently, most of our events have been oriented to praying and advocating for the unborn. Now, we are revamping the ministry to include all stages of life in our activities and events so we can truly reflect SJV’s Mission as well as our commitment to raising awareness and advocating for the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.
Our goal is to expand the activities of the ministry to advocate, not only for the unborn, but also for the vulnerable groups like children in foster care, the sick, the homeless, the mentally ill, the elderly, pregnant and parenting women and families, and immigrants among others. In other words, include other special situations that affect vulnerable populations that are deserving of our support.
Under the new perspective, the Respect Life Ministry will collaborate with other ministries at St. John Vianney as well as other departments of the parish to organize events and activities that promote building a Culture of Life and Living the Gospel of Life.
In addition to the activities that are already taking place, such as the Blessing of the Crosses and Rosary for Life in January, and praying a Novena for Life to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in October (Respect Life Month), we will:
- Organize special presentations on issues such as bioethics, care for the elderly and mentally ill, navigating end-of-life care, guidelines for celebrating Catholic funerals, euthanasia, etc.
- Organize new activities that offer service opportunities that benefit people in vulnerable situations, such as the ones mentioned above.
- Support the Archdiocese’s Office of Pro-Life Activities’ events, retreats and ministries, such as St. Joseph Foster Care and Adoption Ministry, Jerome’s Hope, Rachel’s Vineyard, etc.
To join this beautiful ministry, contact the Social Services office at 281.752.2400, ssvolcoordinator@stjohnvianney.org, or email Andrea at a.maher@sbcglobal.net.
“The promotion of the Culture of Life should be the highest priority in our societies… If the right to life is not defended decisively as a condition for all other rights of the person, all other references to human rights remain deceitful and illusory.” – St. John Paul II